Letter from Elias Higbee, 20 February 1840–A

  • Source Note
  • Historical Introduction
Page 98
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I held in my hand, then showed that the first accusation, therein contained, was on account of our religious tenets, furthermore that the other were utterly groundless. I went on to prove that the whole pursecution from beginning to end was grounded on our religious faith— For evidence of this I refered them to ’s testimony and P. Powell’s I stated that there were abundant testimony to prove this to be a fact among documents. I then gave a brief history of the persecutions from the first settlement in the to our final expulsion. I also stated that the society were industrious, inoffensive, and innocent of crime; had the Times & Seasons, from which I read ’ letter to : I also refered to ’s letter from Pike County, the Clerk’s & other’s respecting our caracter <​character​>— in their sections of country I gave them some hints of the massacre and the murder of the two little Boys but refered them more particularly to the documents for information concerning those things, and furthermore that I had not come here to instruct them in what they were to do in this case; but to present them with the facts— having all confidence in this honorable body (the Congress) believing them to be honorable men. I demanded, from them a restitution of all our rights and privileges as citizens of the , and damages for all the losses we had sustained in consequence of our persecutions and expulsion from the . And told them we could have recourse no where else on earth that I knew of— that we could not sue an Army of Soldiers. neither could we go into the to sue any body else. I told them that I knew not how far Congress had jurisdiction in this case or how far they had not, but as far as they had, we claimed the exercise of it for our relief; for we were an injured people These and some other were the principle subjects of my speech— after which, said he was once in the Mormon’s favor; but afterwards learned that it was impossible to live among them—for they stole their neighbor’s hogs—and there being so much testimony he believed it. &c &c, I replied something like [p. 98]
I held in my hand, then showed that the first accusation, therein contained, was on account of our religious tenets, furthermore that the other were utterly groundless. I went on to prove that the whole pursecution from beginning to end was grounded on our religious faith— For evidence of this I refered them to ’s testimony and P. Powell’s I stated that there were abundant testimony to prove this to be a fact among documents. I then gave a brief history of the persecutions from the first settlement in the to our final expulsion. I also stated that the society were industrious, inoffensive, and innocent of crime; had the Times & Seasons, from which I read ’ letter to : I also refered to ’s letter from Pike County, the Clerk’s & other’s respecting our character— in their sections of country I gave them some hints of the massacre and the murder of the two little Boys but refered them more particularly to the documents for information concerning those things, and furthermore that I had not come here to instruct them in what they were to do in this case; but to present them with the facts— having all confidence in this honorable body (the Congress) believing them to be honorable men. I demanded, from them a restitution of all our rights and privileges as citizens of the , and damages for all the losses we had sustained in consequence of our persecutions and expulsion from the . And told them we could have recourse no where else on earth that I knew of— that we could not sue an Army of Soldiers. neither could we go into the to sue any body else. I told them that I knew not how far Congress had jurisdiction in this case or how far they had not, but as far as they had, we claimed the exercise of it for our relief; for we were an injured people These and some other were the principle subjects of my speech— after which, said he was once in the Mormon’s favor; but afterwards learned that it was impossible to live among them—for they stole their neighbor’s hogs—and there being so much testimony he believed it. &c &c, I replied something like [p. 98]
Page 98